What do you think?
Rate this book
A Complete Summary of Christianity
The question of God's eternal Predestination is not curious, or unprofitable, but of great importance, and very necessary in the Church of God.A Confession of Faith by Theodore Beza
- GenresTheology
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2012
6 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Theodore Beza
105 books15 followersTheodore Beza (Latin: Theodorus Beza; French: Théodore de Bèze or de Besze) was a French Reformed Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation. He was a disciple of John Calvin and lived most of his life in Geneva. Beza succeeded Calvin as a spiritual leader of the Republic of Geneva, which was originally founded by John Calvin himself.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 14, 2017
In this short (if somewhat complex) treatise, Theodore Beza sets out with the dual purpose of developing a positive definition of the doctrine of predestination as well as defending and illustrating is practical use and application to the preaching and life of the church. It is part polemic (against Bolsec and his attack on Calvin's doctrine of predestination), part apologetic (against the Burnese Senate's formal approval of the doctrine but functional prohibition of it being preached or taught in the church), and part homiletic (for the edification of the Christian through its preaching and application in the church) (for more information, see the Muller essay referenced below). The flow of the book is from the more doctrinal, theological definition and defense of the doctrine toward the more practical application of the doctrine in the life of the church and its individual members. While providing the modern reader with a classic Reformed formulation on predestination, it also provides a fascinating window into the historical development between the Reformation and Reformed Orthodoxy.
Classic scholarship has painted a picture of Beza as the cold, rigid, systematizing, and rationalizing corruptor of Calvin's warm, Christocentric, and pastoral piety. Not only does this ignore the relationship of Calvin with his hand-picked successor, but more importantly, it ignores Beza himself as he is presented through his own writing.
To categorize Beza as simply an unpastoral and rigid and rationalizing theologian, interested only in systematization and obsessed mainly with predestination, is simply to have not understood him. To form such a view, one must selectively ignore much of Beza's writings, the contexts in which he wrote, and the fact that Beza often sought clearer presentation of standard Reformed doctrine (systematization!) for the express purpose of edifying the church, assuring the weak in their faith, and encouraging piety and practice in the everyday life of the church. His first chapter begins with practical concerns raised against predestination, and his stated method will be to proceed along the lines of defining what is meant (and not meant) by this doctrine, and then how it should be applied in preaching and to individual believers. The question to ask is not, "Am I elect," but, Do I believe Christ?" If the latter, all else follows, including justification, adoption, perseverance, etc., and far from making us doubt, is the strongest assurance and buttress to our faith.
Thus, this treatise by Beza is best read with an understanding of its context, purpose, and function, and NOT in isolation, as if it were intended in itself to be a systematic summary of the whole Christian faith (toward that end, see Beza's The Christian Faith, which even a cursory review will show that predestination merely "serves as one basic concept, not as the overarching principle of all theology," Beeke, see below). Toward that end, consult the following resources:
--Richard Muller, "The Use and Abuse of a Document" in Protestant Scholasticism: Essays in Reassessment, which has much bibliographical information.
--Joel R. Beeke, Theodore Beza's Supralapsarian Predestination, in Reformation & Revival Journal, vol. 12, no. 2. (Spring 2003).
Classic scholarship has painted a picture of Beza as the cold, rigid, systematizing, and rationalizing corruptor of Calvin's warm, Christocentric, and pastoral piety. Not only does this ignore the relationship of Calvin with his hand-picked successor, but more importantly, it ignores Beza himself as he is presented through his own writing.
To categorize Beza as simply an unpastoral and rigid and rationalizing theologian, interested only in systematization and obsessed mainly with predestination, is simply to have not understood him. To form such a view, one must selectively ignore much of Beza's writings, the contexts in which he wrote, and the fact that Beza often sought clearer presentation of standard Reformed doctrine (systematization!) for the express purpose of edifying the church, assuring the weak in their faith, and encouraging piety and practice in the everyday life of the church. His first chapter begins with practical concerns raised against predestination, and his stated method will be to proceed along the lines of defining what is meant (and not meant) by this doctrine, and then how it should be applied in preaching and to individual believers. The question to ask is not, "Am I elect," but, Do I believe Christ?" If the latter, all else follows, including justification, adoption, perseverance, etc., and far from making us doubt, is the strongest assurance and buttress to our faith.
Thus, this treatise by Beza is best read with an understanding of its context, purpose, and function, and NOT in isolation, as if it were intended in itself to be a systematic summary of the whole Christian faith (toward that end, see Beza's The Christian Faith, which even a cursory review will show that predestination merely "serves as one basic concept, not as the overarching principle of all theology," Beeke, see below). Toward that end, consult the following resources:
--Richard Muller, "The Use and Abuse of a Document" in Protestant Scholasticism: Essays in Reassessment, which has much bibliographical information.
--Joel R. Beeke, Theodore Beza's Supralapsarian Predestination, in Reformation & Revival Journal, vol. 12, no. 2. (Spring 2003).
Displaying 1 of 1 review